The Congress Party has criticized both the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the government for their slow response to alleged stock market manipulation by the US trading firm Jane Street.
Supriya Shrinate, who leads the Congress’s social media efforts, pointed out that Jane Street admitted in a US court that it made $1 billion in India from options trading in 2023 by taking advantage of market inefficiencies. By 2024, this amount increased to $2.3 billion, which represented over 11% of the firm’s global earnings. Despite this significant information, SEBI only issued a warning to Jane Street in February 2025, and the firm reportedly continued its questionable trading practices until May 2025.
Shrinate added that a report from SEBI revealed shocking statistics: 93% of retail investors experienced losses in derivatives trading from 2021 to 2024. In the fiscal year 2024 alone, 91.1% of traders lost around Rs 52,400 crore. Instead of safeguarding small investors, SEBI has been accused of ignoring widespread fraudulent activities in the market.
